Buzz (Over) Kill: Modern Office Catchphrases

Remember when words like "follower" and "user" used to have negative connotations? No more! Nowadays, we all have user names and many of us proudly follow people we've never even met through the various online social networking sites.

As has always been the case with the English language, it's fluid; many words are changeable, quickly becoming catchphrases ("I got Kanyed"), opposites ("That car is so bad"), and buzzwords ("He's a total ninja").

In the workplace, it's important to know what's what when conversing with higher-ups and associates. Now, I'm not suggesting you add the popular "J-" prefix to your first name or that you spout slang like you're the star of an MTV reality show -- but it's good to be in the loop. In the loop -- you're informed, and you know exactly what's going on.

Here are a few more popular ones:

Ninja -- You'll often see this is descriptions of entry-level jobs available: "We're looking for future ninjas to join our team."

Evangelist -- Especially applies to the sales and marketing fields. This employee is a hard-worker who can really sell the product.

Guru -- A seasoned professional, usually one who is "in the loop" at all times.

"We're restructuring." -- You're fired.

Snackers -- People with short attention spans who get most of their news and pertinent information from Twitter, RSS feeds and the like.

Urban Amish -- The rare human left on earth without a smart phone, laptop, iPad, etc.

Herding cats – This job isn't going to be easy

Reinventing the flat tire -- A person or company that keeps making the same lame mistake.

OT-mail -- An after-hours e-mail sent to the boss or co-workers for the sole intent of time-stamping how late you worked.

Jitterati -- A generation of digital drones who're fueled not by literature, but latte.

Relanguage -- To rewrite, edit, or tweak a written report.

Bizmeth -- Shortening of the phrase "business method."

Box of hamsters -- A workplace or situation lacking foresight.

Participate in the conversation -- You are leaving comments on blogs, @ name-checking people on Facebook, and FF'ing on Twitter.

FF -- Follow Friday is a weekly worldwide ritual for many people using the microblogging Twitter network, in which they recommend certain friends' feeds to their own followers.

Feed -- Twitter and Facebook updates.

Rockstar - Someone who is popular online.

What are some of your favorite (or most-detested) catchphrases and buzzwords? Post them here! Err, I mean... "Participate in the conversation!"